The invention relates to building construction and more but not exclusively to building cladding, that is to the provision of an outer facing particularly, for buildings of the type comprising a structure or at least a structural framework and a plurality of cladding panels which are retained in position on the structure or framework.
In known buildings of this type, the cladding panels are retained on the shell of the building by a plurality of jointing members which are placed around the peripheries of the cladding panels to form a lattice. The jointing members comprise extruded sections which usually fit around the edges of the cladding panels and are joined together at the corners of the panels, where horizontal and vertical jointing sections meet, to form the lattice. Prior art methods of forming these joints between the sections have included caulking and glueing but, by these methods, it is difficult to make a water tight seal, particularly at 4-way joints where four sections meet. Furthermore, a large number of such joints are necessary to create a lattice for an entire building and so the problem of water-tightness is multiplied.